Local developer Angelo K. Tsakopoulos has been working for months on a new proposal to finance an arena for the Kings by developing land he owns in rural eastern Sacramento County, say several people who have been involved in the talks.

In addition, Tsakopoulos has approached area Indian tribes, flush with casino profits, to ask for their help in financing a new Kings facility.

The idea is not to build an arena in eastern Sacramento County, an area of rolling grassland and oak trees, but to provide money to build an arena elsewhere, most likely North Natomas, the sources said.

Some local leaders said Tsakopoulos' latest plan would be more difficult to pull off than his previous arena financing proposal, which collapsed in February. Nonetheless, they said, the idea seems to be the most viable thing going at the moment.

Howard Dickstein, an attorney who represents several Indian tribes, said Tuesday his clients are interested in helping keep the Kings in Sacramento. Details of their participation have not been worked out.

We've been having discussions with the interested parties for a long time," said Dickstein, who represents the Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians, the United Auburn Indian Community and the Jackson Rancheria Band of Miwok Indians, all of whom operate casinos in the area.

"So far, nothing has come together," Dickstein added. "The interested parties appear to be Angelo, his company and the Sacramento Kings. I wish there were more interested parties, but there aren't."

The specifics of Tsakopoulos' latest proposal remain unknown. Steve Capps, spokesman for Tsakopoulos' AKT Development, said the developer would have no comment.

Kings co-owner Joe Maloof said he and his brother Gavin have been approached by "a couple of people who are in private business. Angelo's one of them. There are others.

"Angelo has been working very diligently on this, (but) if it doesn't work out with Angelo, it doesn't mean that the whole thing is in deep trouble. … We're still trying. Still trying," Joe Maloof said.

Tsakopoulos controls thousands of acres in eastern Sacramento County - south of Highway 50 and between Rancho Cordova and the El Dorado County line. Those briefed on his current proposal say the land he is seeking to develop lies outside the urban growth boundary in the county's general plan.

Much of this land recently was left as open space by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments when it crafted a long-term growth blueprint for the region.

Tsakopoulos also has discussed the possibility of including some of his western El Dorado County holdings in the deal, said those involved in the talks.

Some local leaders say they've told the developer that any proposal to open eastern Sacramento County to building would stir opposition from environmentalists and would face numerous logistical hurdles, including the lack of adequate roads, water and other infrastructure needed to serve new homes.

Mike McKeever, executive director of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, said Tsakopoulos' previous arena proposal - although it failed - was more realistic.

It would have involved rezoning much of the remaining farmland in North Natomas. That land, unlike the east county, had been earmarked for eventual growth by the city and county.

The North Natomas proposal collapsed in February after several property owners, including the prominent Ose family, said they would not participate. As conceived by Tsakopoulos, the plan asked landowners to commit 20 percent of their profits from development to an arena.

McKeever said he had "some regrets" that the North Natomas proposal fell apart. He thinks it would take years to sort out the transportation, air quality and open space issues in the east county.

"I think Angelo has done the region a service by pursuing this, but I think this latest iteration is probably a 10 out of 10 in degree of difficulty, and maybe it's time to think of other ways that are not connected to land use to save the Kings," McKeever said.

The Kings owners have made it clear they're impatient for an arena deal. They haven't set a deadline, but they've repeatedly stressed that Arco is obsolete.

"We don't know what the timetable is," Maloof said Tuesday. "We've been at this for six years now, and (prior owner) Jim Thomas was at it for four years before us. Who knows what the timetable is? Something has to get done sooner or later, we all know that."

Some Kings fans, including the tribes represented by Dickstein, fear that the team will leave Sacramento if a state-of-the-art arena is not built. Sacramento's elected officials have been largely silent on the topic in recent months.

"The tribes, like a lot of residents in the area, are concerned that this could be the 11th hour and that the Kings will be forced to take other opportunities because of the lack of responsiveness from this community," Dickstein said.

"Angelo has been working very diligently on this, (but) if it doesn't work out with Angelo, it doesn't mean that the whole thing is in deep trouble. … We're still trying. Still trying," Joe Maloof said.

I'm glad to hear the wheels are still turing on this behind the scenes.

In my opinion, the most logical spot for a new arena is the railyards. DT, freeway close, Amtrak station, future Greyhound station (maybe), RT buses, not too far from some existing eateries and drinkeries, ... an urban blank slate at this point.

There is nobody to blame for lack of an Arena deal except for the people who live in the city and county of Sacramento. Repeatedly deals have surfaced that would have placed the taxes on visitors using our hotels rooms and rental car facilities and still the public here ins't behind the Arena. Some people have their heads in the Tule Fog and are in denial to the fact the the Maloofs would ever leave Sacramento (which is a false assumption). Others who don't believe Arco needs to be replaced (which is another lie). And still others that believe the Maloofs can build it themselves and could still put a winning team on the floor.

Here's my take.

This should go to the ballot with various tax increase proposals.

Rental cars, Hotel rooms, maybe even liquor. If the people of Sacramento vote it down then there will be nobody to blame but ourselves. It's time for people in this region to put up our shut up. If we can't get it done, I wont blame the Maloofs if they choose to move.

While I genuinely admire Tsakopoulos for trying, he has his own interests at stake. (That's o.k. by me). But what's not o.k. with me is the idea of opening up more open space to yet more sprawl. I wouldn't vote for this and I doubt many in Sacramento will. We need to be discouraging sprawl and providing real alternatives for people who want to return downtown.

I would hate to lose the Kings, but I don't think we would have to, if people in Sacramento would take the time and pull their heads out of their butts. A tax on rental cars, liquor, and hotel rooms will be born by visitors and those of us who like to have a drink now and again.

But to open up the "Northern Territories" north of Natomas or to open Eastern Sacramento County, would contradict what we're trying to do downtown.

one more thing.... I am a basketball fanatic. I love the Kings. But I do not believe for a second that Sacramento has to have a major league sport to validate itself or make it feel good about who it is.

Create a relaible, clean and expanded mass transit system (which we're doing), invest in schools, cultural amenities, the central city and this will still be a desirable destination for people and companies looking to relocate here.

We should try to keep the Kings, but there are better ways of doing it besides trading an Arena for more sprawl.

__________________ "A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It's where the rich use public transportation." ~~~Gustavo Petro

Yeah, I think it's part of the worlds largest casino that they have up there.

As for this plan, I kinda don't care anymore. Once I saw the best idea ever shot down (replacing 1/3 of DT Plaza with a new arena), it really turned me off to the whole thing.

As for opening up new land, SACOG already expects that land to be developed in the future, but this would obviously speed that up. *hint; if you wanna get really disgusted, drive down S. Sunrise to Grant Line. You'll wanna hurl, and then go after the County.*

__________________
Yeah, I'm like an even less classy version of Tucker Max. - Snodrifter

Fuck it, at this point I dont care open up the sprawl land and let it pour in. As long as we get a new arena i'd sell my soul. Sacramento needs a major sports team or two to make ourselves feel better. Yes we need the kings to validate ourselves as a real city. If we lose the kings we might as well rename Sacramento to "Anytown, USA" and remove ourselves from all the maps and any news. We will be the most generic/suburban city in the USA.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- After more than five years of political angst, Charlotte is ready to take the wrapper off a $265 million downtown arena that will be home to the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats.

And the officials who helped design the building believe they have a winner.

I think this building, not only from a budget standpoint but also from an aesthetic standpoint, is the best [arena] in the country," building chief operating officer Barry Silberman said Wednesday as the media toured the arena two blocks from the center of downtown Charlotte.

Mayor Pat McCrory and Bobcats owner Bob Johnson are to officially open Charlotte Bobcats Arena at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday. The Rolling Stones headline the first arena event Friday, while the Bobcats open their home schedule Nov. 5 against the Boston Celtics.

The city acquired land and paid for construction of the building, which is being operated by the team.

The 19,000-seat arena replaces the suburban Charlotte Coliseum, which opened in 1988 for the NBA's Charlotte Hornets but was quickly made obsolete by a new generation of sports arenas outfitted with luxury suites and other upscale amenities. The Hornets moved to New Orleans in 2002, one year after voters rejected a proposal to use public money to pay for a downtown arena and other center-city projects.

When the city agreed to build the arena anyway, the NBA granted Charlotte another franchise, the Bobcats. The team played its first season last year at the Coliseum, averaging 14,432 fans.

The tepid response has been attributed in part to residual anger over the arena controversy. Published reports in recent weeks have said the team is struggling to sell tickets.

Bobcats officials won't discuss ticket sales, but have said they believe word of mouth will help fill the stands after the arena opens.

With a brick, glass and steel exterior, the building aims to evoke both Charlotte's roots in the industrial South and the present-day banking towers that dominate the city's skyline.

"We were not looking for an icon building, but for one that was beautiful, hopefully, and fit in with the city, " said architect Doug Brown of the Kansas City, Mo., firm of Ellerbe Becket.

Inside, allusions to Charlotte and the Carolinas are thick. A massive mural inside the building's main entrance plaza off Trade Street looks at the history of basketball in the Piedmont; artwork on the upper concourse surveys Charlotte's history from the 18th century to the present. The "Pit Stop BBQ" stand alludes to the region's ties to stock-car racing, while a "Flight Deck" food and beverage area pays homage to the Wright Brothers' first flight at Kitty Hawk.

Two levels of luxury suites ring the lower bowl of the arena. A fine-dining restaurant at the suite level along one baseline will allow patrons to eat dinner while they watch a game or a concert.

Gone are the glass windows that often front luxury suites, with the seats pushed onto terraces in front of the main suite space. The aim was to "make the suite fans part of the crowd," Ellerbe Becket architect Susan Fulton said.

The arena also has outdoor terrace with skyline views, and the upper concourse also has an elevated stage for musical performances and a play space for kids.

Bobcats players weren't forgotten, either. The team's practice court is part of the arena complex and the players-only area includes a theater with a 60-inch plasma screen, a lounge, a state-of-the-art hydrotherapy center and a soothingly lit locker room.

A dominant feature is the massive scoreboard. Four 16-by-28-foot LED video screens hang over center court, topped by a wraparound three-dimensional sculpture of the Charlotte skyline.

Actually I'm getting kind of tired of the Maloofs. If they want a new arena then they need to say what they want and by what date. Then they need to say what they're willing to pay. They need to ante up more than 20% since they will be controlling all concessions and naming rights. 20% is not a "fair share".

__________________ "A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It's where the rich use public transportation." ~~~Gustavo Petro

Actually I'm getting kind of tired of the Maloofs. If they want a new arena then they need to say what they want and by what date. Then they need to say what they're willing to pay. They need to ante up more than 20% since they will be controlling all concessions and naming rights. 20% is not a "fair share".